Opponents of a new Islamic worship centre planned for the Gold Coast have nothing to fear, according to a local imam and people who live close to mosques around the country.

Residents of Worongary, in the Gold Coast hinterland, have hired a solicitor and formed an action group to protest the proposal for the centre to be built on Alkira Way.

Last year there was a similar outcry over a plan to build an Islamic school at Carrara, 10 kilometres away.

The Worongary residents say an Islamic worship centre would slash house prices in the area, bring down neighbourhood security and increase anti-social behaviour.

Some locals who recently moved to the area even say they will consider moving out if the centre is approved.

But with 5,000 Muslims living in the region, Gold Coast Islamic community leader and Labrador mosque imam Imraan Husain says there is a need for the development.

He says at present Muslims must travel to the Labrador mosque for prayers, weddings, funerals and festivals, and that a second centre in the south would assist the region's growing population.

He says the initial reaction from residents has not been surprising.

"After all the things they hear, what's happening globally, people have this fear about Muslims," he told ABC local radio this morning.

"Maybe because of them not really living in an Islamic civilisation or having a real connection with an Islamic environment, they have these fears of just what they hear of minor or a small group of radicals and what they do."

Imam Husain says he would be working closely with the centre if it is approved.

"They have to be inclusive and have an open-door policy and integrate with the broader Australian community so that the fear can eliminate and so people can realise that what happens behind those walls is nothing different to what happens in churches and synagogues and temples," he said.

Islamic Society of the Gold Coast president Hassan Goss says the reaction has been ridiculous.

"I think what they should do is everyone take a cold shower, let's have a cup of coffee and sit around the table and say what we are actually going to do there," he said.

"It would be just a small Islamic centre, meaning there could be prayer there, tea and coffee, bringing the community together.

"For the travellers travelling from Tweed or from Sydney heading north to Cairns, they have some place to stop off, do their prayers, freshen up and keep moving."

Diversity and culture

People who live near mosques around the country are encouraging Worongary residents not to oppose the worship centre.

Jordan Brock used to rent a home in Northbridge, inner-city Perth, where he lived close to a mosque.

He says prior to September 11 he barely noticed it was there.

"The mosque has been there for well over 100 years and was renovated during the 1990s, which was when we moved into the area," he said.

"We didn't have a great deal to do with the mosque for the first few years, and to be honest, we barely even noticed it was there.

"There was certainly no evidence of it encouraging or increasing anti-social behaviour and it had no impact whatsoever upon neighbourhood security.

"If there was any gathering of people on the street prior to prayers, services or functions at the mosque, they were certainly friendly and in no way threatening."

"The greatest threat residents would be facing in terms of their house prices would not be from the mosque," he said.

"It would be more from the fact that there is a high level of properties already for sale in the area - that will always keep a lid on prices - and secondly, the ability to put more properties in the area is significantly high because there is a high level of vacant land in the area as well."

Mr Piazzetta says he is not aware of any suburb that has had a dramatic downturn in property values just because a religious building has gone ahead.

"The most famous mosque in Australia is the one at Lakemba [in Sydney]. They've had 15 per cent growth compound over the past three years," he said.

"To say that they're being adversely affected by having a mosque in the area, I think, is just fundamentally wrong.

"If anything, it would significantly increase the commercial opportunities for people - bakeries, corner stores - it opens up commercial opportunities."

The Australian Institute of Criminology says there is no evidence or research to suggest the presence of an Islamic building increases the incidence of crime in a neighbourhood.

Worongary residents have until October 1 to lodge their objections and the approval process is then expected to take about 12 months.

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